Labeling machine



y 1959 H. G. THULKE ET AL 2,886,200

LABELING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1957 I INVENTOR Hermann C1. TlwlHc and CarlH Abbe Mg ATTORNEY United States PatentO 2,886,200 LABELING MACHINE Hermann G. Thulke, Massapequa, and Carl H. Abbe, Maspeth, N.Y., assignors to Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware 'Application October 14, 1957, Serial No. 690,081 1 Claim. (Cl. 216-55) This invention relates to an apparatus for applying labels to rectangular articles, and more particularly relates to an apparatus for applying labels across corners of rectangular articles.

Various machines have been proposed for automatically applying labels to articles such as containers of liquid, powdered or solid preparations. Most of these automatic machines are intended for use only with cylindrical articles, but a comparatively few labeling machines are able to successively handle noncircular articles or containers, particularly rectangular articles.

Cylindrical articles are comparatively more easily labeled than rectangular articles because they can be far more easily rotated to firmly aflix the label thereto. Several machines specifically intended for labeling noncircular articles, for example, machines described in U.S. Letters Patents 1,653,495 and 2,727,647, therefore, incorporate swiveling carriages for supporting and rotating these rectangular articles as the labels are afiixed thereto. These carriages, however, introduce complications in structure of the device for conveying the articles through the machine and make the operation of means for picking up and discharging the articles more diflicult.

A fairly successful machine for labeling either cylindrical or rectangular articles is described in U.S. Letters Patent 2,703,660. This machine, however, is only adapted for applying labels to one longer side of these articles which leaves unsolved the problem of applyingv arations which are stored on medicine cabinet shelves having limited lateral capacityr Appreciable space is saved by placing these articles upon the shelves with their shorter sides parallel to the length of the shelves which permits a maximum number of containers to be stored along the length of the shelf. However, When normally labeled rectangular containers having the label fixed to the longer side are so stored, it is not possible toread the label without taking it off the shelf. Even if the label is only applied tothe exposed shorterside, it is sometimes not entirely satisfactory because it may be too small to contain all of the required information. This can be overcome by attaching separate labels to two adjacent sides, 'but this might cause a prohibitive doubling of the cost of labeling.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a simple and economical apparatus for applying labels across the corners of rectangular articles.

In accordance with this invention, an apparatus for applying labels to rectangular articles includes a main conveyor for carrying these articles past a worm-feed article-spacing means, a label-attaching drum, and a compression unit for firmly impressing the trailing ends of the labels to the articles. The worm-feed means in- 2,886,200 Patented May 12, 1959 cludes a pair of helical screws spaced apart a distance sufficient to engage the shorter sides of the articles and feed them to the drum at a predetermined spacing as they pass in a direction parallel to the shorter sides. At the labeling drum, the leading ends of the labels are firmly attached to the shorter sides of the articles by a dual air blast. Before the articles with trailing labels enter the compression device, the corners of the articles opposite from the drum strike a deflecting means which rotates them about these corners to reorient the articles to move in a direction parallel to their longer sides.

tion;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an article and label in an' intermediate stage of the labeling process performed in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 is shown a labeling machine 10 which is somewhat similar to the machine described in US. Letters Patent 2,703,660. This machine includes. a main conveyor means 12, for example an endless conveyor belt, which assists in carrying through the machine rectangular articles 14, for example, rectangular bottles for packaging a pharmaceutical preparation.

Articles 14 are loaded upon main conveyor 12 at receiving station 16 and are carried upon belt 12 into a worm-feed means 18 including a pair of helically grooved shafts or worms 20. The helicalgrooves 22 increase in pitch from a minimum pitch at the entrance to the Worm to a maximum pitch of predetermined spacing at the exit from the worms to convert the compact spacing of articles supplied to the apparatus to a predetermined wider spacing, forexample, corresponding to the minimum distance required for successively applying labels at the next station.

Shafts 20 are spaced apart a distance sufiicient to receive the shorter sides 24 of articles 14 engaged in grooves 22 to cause articles 14 to pass through worm means 18 in a direction parallel to shorter sides 24. This provides a balanced transporting force to both of the shorter sides which prevents tipping or toppling which might snag an article between worms 20. Shafts or worms 20 are rotated, for example, by means of electric motors 26 and sprocket chain transmissions 28.

Articles 14 are discharged from worm-feed means 18 at the predetermined spacing provided thereby and successively move past label-applying drum means 30 which isdescribed, for example,-more fully in aforementioned U.S. Letters Patent 2,703,660 and even more in detail in Fig. 9, for example, of US. Letters Patent 2,525,741. As described in these issued patents, successive labels 32 are transferred to the surfaces 34 of drum 30 lying between ribs 36 and are held upon the drum by suction applied through apertures 38, for example, leading to passages of subatmospheric pressure connected to cavities within the drum. These apertures 38 and other portions of the drum are indicated in greater detail in Fig. 3.

Labels 32 are coated with an adhesive material which is heated upon drum 30 to facilitate application to the article. Details of this heating means are described in the aforementioned patents. Labels 32 are transferred to 3. surfaces 34 of drum 30 from label pickup device or station 40 which transfers successive labels 32 from a pile (not shown) and supplies them to the drum 30 in preparation for afiixation to the successive articles.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a pair of rows of apertures 42 are providedat the leading ends of label-retaining surfaces-34 of drum 3% Air'under pressure is discharged through these rows of orifices when an article 14 has its shorter side 24 positioned directly opposite them to force the leading end 33- of a label 32 firmly against the shorter side-24 of the article. This pressure of two rows of orifices, in contrast to a pressure provided by only one row heretofore utilized, insures that the leading ends of labels 32 are securely attached to the shorter sides of articles 14.

A deflecting or projecting means 44 is disposed along main conveyor means 12 at a position intermediate drum 30 andlabel-compressing means 46. Projecting means 44 extends into the path of the leading corner 48 of an article 14 disposed remote from drum 30. Projecting means 44 includes a rounded or curved leading edge 50 which topples or trips leading corners 48 of articles 14 to cause them to rotate and thereafter move in a direction parallel to their longer sides 52.

Side rail 54 is disposed across conveyor 12 and oppo site projection 44. This rail 54 deflects the trailing ends 56 of labels 32 and causes them to lie parallel to the longer sides 52 of articles 14. This prepares the articles and labels for firm impression upon longer side 52 by compression unit 46.

Compression unit 46 includes, for example, two pairs of flexible endless belts 58 which, for example, rotate in directions which cause the adjacent'lengths of belt to move in the same forward direction at substantially the same speed. This positively drives articles 14 through the compression unit and impresses the trailing ends 56 of labels '32 firmly into engagement with the longer sides 52 of articles 14.' Compression units 46 include, for example, motor and pulley drives 60 of conventional flexible endless belt and pulleyiconstr'uction.

Operation articles 14 enter the compression unit which impresses the trailing ends 56-oif the labels to the'longer sides, articles 14 are conveniently rotated to bring longer sides 52 of articles 14 parallel to trailing ends 56-of labels 32. At t-he same time, the directionof travel of articles 14 is changed to cause articles 14 tomove ina directionparallel to longer sides 52. This is "unexpectedly easily accomplished by'a projection ordeflecting means 44 disposed along'one side of main conveyor means 12 which extends inwardly a distance suffi'cient to convert the path of movement of articles 14 from a direction parallel to the shorter sides to a direction parallel to the longer sides.

Side rail 54 cooperates in laying the label next to the longer side 52 as each article 14 is rotated by projection 44. The simplicity of structure required for this change is attained by providing an initial condition of instability in which the articles move in a direction parallel to their shorter sides. verted to the more stable direction parallel to the longer sides by a slight interference with thepath of movement of these articles.

The final impression of the trailing ends 56 of the labels occurs in compression'unit 46 whose operation is enhanced by utilizing belts 58 which are made of resilient material, for example, rubber to make them resilient as Well as flexible. These belts 58 move faster thanmain conveyor belt 12to positively and quickly unload the machine.

What is claimed is:

An apparatus forapplying labels across the corners-of rectangular; articles comprising a label-attaching. means for applying the leading ends of said labels to said articles, a compression unit for firmly impressing the trailing ends of said labels about said articles, fiat-continuous conveyor means for advancing said articles successively past said label-attaching means and through said compression unit, an article feeding means for advancing said articles at a predetermined spacing and orientation to said label-attaching means, said article feeding means including a pair of parallel actuating means spaced at a predetermined distance for engaging the shorter sides of said articles to insure that said articles are carried smoothly forward in a direction parallel to said shorter sides, said article-feeding means incorporating a forward movement faster than the forward movement of said'conv'eyor means to permit said feeding means to engage articles disposed in a compact spacing on said conveyor means and convert said compact spacing to a wider predeter mined spacing. to facilitate application and impression of said labels,-saidlabels being long enough to be wrapped a distance about the following longer sides of said articles,- a deflecting projection means disposed adjacent the side of said conveyor means opposite from said labelattach-ing means anda short distance past it, said deflecting projection means extending a distance into the path of said articles sufficient to'arrest the approaching corners of said articles to rotate said articles to change their motion to a direction parallel to their longer sides, said defleeting pr'ojec'tion'means' reducing the passageway for said articles alongsaid conveyor to a width sufiicient only to permit. 'said' ar'ti'cles to pass through in a direction parallel to said longer sides, and side rail means disposed adjacent said conveyor opposite said deflecting projection means for guidingsaid trailing ends of said labels about the following longer sides ofsaid articles to position said trailing'ends-fo'r impression to said longer sides by said compression unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS This movement is thereby easily con- 

